the-own-lab/design-doc
skills/design-doc/SKILL.md
Write a lightweight design doc before implementation for Medium/Large tasks. Mandates Non-Goals and Alternatives Considered sections to prevent scope creep and hindsight bias. Inspired by Google design doc culture.
development
Updated Apr 21, 2026
$ install --global
skillsauthnpx skillsauth add the-own-lab/Claude-company-of-one design-docInstall this skill globally with one command. Works with Claude Code, Cursor, and Windsurf.
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Last scanned: Apr 30, 2026, 9:31 AM4.2s1 file scanned
SKILL.md
- name:
- design-doc
- description:
- Write a lightweight design doc before implementation for Medium/Large tasks. Mandates Non-Goals and Alternatives Considered sections to prevent scope creep and hindsight bias. Inspired by Google design doc culture.
Design Doc
Write before you build. A solo founder's worst enemy is scope creep and hindsight drift — a design doc fixes the scope in writing so you can notice when you're wandering.
When to Write
- Medium or Large tasks (Small tasks skip this)
- Any task touching more than one module or changing a public interface
- Any task where you've considered more than one approach
Structure (5 sections, tight)
1. Problem
What is broken or missing? Write it so someone who doesn't know the task context can follow. 2–4 sentences.
2. Proposed Solution
The approach you intend to take. Bullet points are fine. Include any data shapes, key flows, or interfaces.
3. Non-Goals
Mandatory. Things this work explicitly will NOT do. This section exists to bound scope.
- Format: "X is out of scope because Y."
- If the list is empty, the doc is incomplete — think harder.
- Non-goals are the single most valuable section for solo developers: they protect against mission drift.
4. Alternatives Considered
Mandatory. At least 2 alternatives, each with one-line "why rejected."
- Includes "do nothing" if relevant
- This forces honest comparison. If you can't articulate what you rejected, you haven't decided — you've defaulted.
5. Open Questions
Things you don't know yet. Flag them so review surfaces them early.
Length Budget
- Small task: skip.
- Medium task: 1 page (~300 words).
- Large task: 2 pages max. If longer, break the task up.
Integration
- Produced before
write-plan(design → plan → execute) - Design doc content goes into
${COMPANY_OF_ONE_PLUGIN_DATA}/projects/{key}/specs/for Large tasks - For Medium, inline in the conversation is acceptable
- Link the
success-metricskill output into section 1 (Problem) to tie design to measurable outcome
Anti-patterns
- Writing the doc after coding ("document what I built") — the point is to commit to a direction before building
- Skipping Non-Goals because "it's obvious" — the whole point is externalizing the implicit bounds
- Listing fake alternatives ("we could have written it in COBOL") — compare real options you actually considered
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